Hasselblad repairers UK

[mervyn_wilmington]

<p>I have a couple of 'c' type lenses that I want servicing. They are working, but the focus is a little stiff. I think it would be better to get a full cla'd rather than just have the focus cleaned and lubricated.</p>

<p>I certainly can't afford Hasselblad UK (!). I've got two or three prices so far, but there seems to be significant charge differences between the repairers. </p>

<p>Has anyone experience they can 'feedback' for this sort of work in the UK - and. of course, the repairers involved, including guarantees given</p>

[BernardMiller]

<p>Hmmm, wish I could help, especially as no one else has yet. You might try contacting Aperture, as they sell quite a bit of second-hand 'Blad gear which I'm sure occasionally needs a bit of attention, and see if they can recommend anyone.</p>

<p>http://www.apertureuk.com/</p>

[mervyn_wilmington]

<p>Thanks for that Bernard.</p>

<p>Dealers can sometimes seem reluctant to disclose who they use. Perhaps some of them hope that repairs might be diverted via themselves so as to obtain commission?!</p>

<p>I take your point about no one else having responded, although I hope there is still time. Surely, there must be members of the forum out there (in the UK) who have had Hasselblad work done in the fairly recent past?</p>

[steve m smith]

<p>Not sure about Hasselblad specifically but these two are the most often quoted UK repairers:<br>

<a href="http://www.newtonellis.com/camopt/">http://www.newtonellis.com/camopt/</a><br>

<a href="http://www.bonwcameras.co.uk/">http://www.bonwcameras.co.uk/</a></p>

<p> </p>

[mervyn_wilmington]

<p>Thanks Bernard and Steve. I will follow-up the suggestions.</p>

<p>However, from the paucity of response, should I conclude that there are very few UK members of the forum who have Hasselblads, or they have them but they never go wrong, or they do go wrong but the owners are so wealthy that they can afford Hasselblad UK prices!!!???</p>

[jrsmith]

<p>Mervyn<br>

It's actually not that difficult to clean and lubricate the helicoids on a Hasselblad 'C' lens, so an honest repairer shouldn't charge you much more than an hour's labour for that. Which is what Hasselblad UK do quote for the work - one hour at £80 plus VAT and carriage.<br>

I do my own helicoids, which is fiddly but satisfying.<br>

John</p>

[mervyn_wilmington]

<p>Thanks for that John.</p>

<p>In the past I have cleaned etc helicoids of Pentax and Minolta lenses. However, health related problems rather preclude that sort of activity now.</p>

<p>You are quite right about the amount charged by Hasselblad UK for servicing the helicoids. That is the price they gave me, and is rather less than the price quoted by another company for that work. You will see, though, that I was looking for a complete lens service. Hasselblad quoted me around £400 for that. Insofar as I've had information from other repairers, the cost of the complete service was not that much more than the helicoid work. Yet, according to your charging bases, Hasselblad consider around five hours are involved.</p>

<p>It is a funny old world, sometimes seems more mystery than science...</p>

[jrsmith]

<p>Mervyn</p>

<p>The team at Elstree are really nice guys, but they are understandably very wary of taking on the old 'C' lenses. This is because many of the crucial parts needed for the shutters in particular are no longer available to them. So they tend to quote a rather high price, which includes a notional £100 for parts plus VAT, when in fact no parts may be needed. This I think is just to put you off - because of course the process of dismantling and cleaning an old shutter may show up all sorts of faults, or even break something which was already very fragile, which they may not have the parts to fix.</p>

<p>Other folks may well have plenty of NOS shutter main springs and the like, and because they are not official Hasselblad repairers they are free to obtain and use them. John Delera at J D Camtech has tons of this stuff. I've never used him, but he has the gear. I just had a SWC overhauled at Elstree, and it was not cheap, but they did a superb job. It feels like new.</p>

<p>John</p>

[mervyn_wilmington]

<p>John</p>

<p>Many thanks for your further help/advice.</p>

<p>I don't doubt for one minute that Hasselblad UK's work is of the highest standard. You may well be right about a notional inclusion of the cost of parts, but I was told that even the price I was given might was not definitive and additional cost for parts could be involved. </p>

[jrsmith]

<p>Mervyn</p>

<p>I've got a 120mm S-Planar in for CLA with Elstree at the moment. I'll let you know that damage when I get it back, probably sometime next week.</p>

<p>John</p>

[mervyn_wilmington]

<p>John - that is really helpful. I look forward to learning of the outcome.</p>

[jrsmith]

<p>Mervyn</p>

<p>I just got my 120mm S-Planar back from Hasselblad UK at Elstree. The shutter is running as smooth as silk! The cost was £201.60 for the shutter CLA including VAT and return carriage. If you want the helicoids servicing as well you will have to add a bit more on for that.</p>

<p>John</p>

[mervyn_wilmington]

<p>John</p>

<p> Many thanks for that.</p>

<p>It is 'interesting' because in March Hasselblad UK quoted me 80gbp + vat + carriage for the focus clean and lub, plus 320gbp + vat for the shutter clean etc. They made the point that it might be more if additional parts were required.</p>

<p>The s-planar in question was one (as part of an outfit) I had bought from a UK dealer company. I returned it to the company for it to be repaired. However, the company declined to have it repaired and returned my money in respect of the lens.</p>

<p>It seems a funny old world...</p>

[jrsmith]

<p>Hmmmm. What I would say is that the cost of shutter servicing on these old 'C' lenses seems a lot more reasonable once you have had a go at doing it yourself - and I have, on a lens which was a "junker" anyway. Dismantling the thing down to the level where you can actually get at the shutter is an exercise where you need very good eyesight, enormous patience with very tiny screws, and enough spare bits to replace the tiny little pin or spring which you are bound to drop. It is scary stuff. I can lube the helicoids, take the glass out to clean the inside elements, and change bayonet rings and barrels. But servicing a Compur shutter is something I leave to the experts.</p>

<p>Others may do it a lot cheaper than Hasselblad UK. But perhaps the question you should ask is just how <em>well </em>do they do it?</p>

<p>John</p>

[mervyn_wilmington]

<p>John,</p>

<p>I'm not qualified to comment on the amount of work, but I have no doubt that you are right in what you say. The question seems to be what you have been charged, and what I was quoted.</p>

[mervyn_wilmington]

<p>John,</p>

<p>In relation to your comments about the complexity of lenses/shutters, I've just obtained the original repair manual and parts list for the synchro compur. They seem to run from the mid 1950s to the early 1970s. They are large and heavy!</p>

<p>I've no intention of becoming a 'repairer', but they are interesting, and, as you say, demonstrate the complexities of the work involved.</p>

[BernardMiller]

<p>This is an old thread (to which I contributed a while back myself). But as the information contained herein may prove of future use to someone looking for a UK repairer of Hasselblad gear, I wanted to add to it that I have recently discovered a repairer who seems to provide excellent--and very fast--service.</p>

<p>That would be <a href="http://www.happyblad.com">Happyblad</a>.</p>

<p>They not cheap--Hasselblad UK *might* be cheaper for some things--but they were extremely fast and helpful in repairing my Planar 80 CF last week.</p>

<p>And they seem to do things others can't: my favourite dealer (<a href="/medium-format-photography-forum/www.croydonphotocentre.co.uk">www.croydonphotocentre.co.uk</a>) had an ancient SWC that had come in and which he loaned to me to test out for him. It turned out that the shutter was malfunctioning; it fired only intermittently at first, then ceased to work altogether. It struck us both that it was a shame to let such a fine old camera become a paperweight, but nobody seemed able to fix the shutter, which had a broken part and for which spares are nearly impossible to find owing to the camera's age.</p>

<p>When I found Happyblad, we gave them a ring. They not only assured us they could do it, they had the camera fixed and returned within a week. Another of his regular customers purchased it shortly afterward, and it is now seeing good and regular use once again.</p>

<p>So if you're in need of Hasselblad repair in the UK, I'd recommend that you give them a call at least. So far, they have proven themselves expert and very fast in my experience, and at least reasonably priced.</p>